


Faster than a bullet, yet always too slow

by iTwinDragons (rNgDragon)



Series: Death on the Edge of a Blade [2]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Blackwatch Era, Blackwatch Jesse McCree, Cheating, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Fall of Overwatch, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-09-21 05:03:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9532637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rNgDragon/pseuds/iTwinDragons
Summary: "Hey, you're fast, but you ain't faster than a bullet."Genji looked up from sharpening his sword. In front of him stood a cowboy. They even had a hat and spurs on their boots. Was this a joke? They even had a belt that read "BAMF"."Can I help you?" He frowned. Who was this man?(Rewrite ofOf monsters and menin another pov)





	

**Author's Note:**

> so this is a rewrite of my other fic [Of monsters and men](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8903959) but in Genji's perspective and also adding a bit ore of when McCree & Genji's rough relationship started.
> 
> Idk I just had a random muse to write something.

—Watchpoint Gibraltar, Blackwatch training sector.   
10 years prior

"Hey, you're fast, but you ain't faster than a bullet."

Genji looked up from sharpening his sword. In front of him stood a cowboy. They even had a hat and spurs on their boots. Was this a joke? They even had a belt that read "BAMF".

"Can I help you?" He frowned. Who was this man?

"Saw you at the trainin' course. You're pretty fast," the man spoke with a smile. "You one of Morrison's goody two shoes?"

"I don't belong to anyone," he growled. He got up and headed toward the exit. This man thought he was an omnic!

"Hey!" The man ran after him. "I was just askin' if ya were part of Overwatch! Nothin' offensive!"

Genji whipped around. "Of course you didn't," he said, mockingly. "It's all my fault that I look like an omnic."

"Hey," the man scowled. "I just saw you bein' lonely 'ere so I thought I could make a friend, but you are just-"

"McCree!" A voice interrupted. "What's going on here? I told you to stay away from the Overwatch agents." The man -he now knew as McCree- turned to look at who spoke. "Oh, sorry boss. I was just-"

"Commander Reyes," Genji spoke, giving him a short bow. "It was my fault. I approached the cowboy with questions about his interesting choice of clothing and he got mad at me." He saw McCree give him a sideways glance and smile.

"Well, in that case," Reyes sighed. "I have work to do." He left grumbling about Morrison's agents getting his into trouble and something about the cowboy's choice of clothing  

McCree let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you kindly. But I gotta ask, why'd ya help me?"

"You didn't mean to insult me," he sighed. "And I do suppose I want some friends." McCree grinned at him and Genji, for the first time in years, blushed. Why did this man make him so flustered?

~

—Watchpoint Gibraltar, Overwatch training facility.   
8 years prior

McCree crashed to the floor again in a heap of arms, legs and cowboy gear.

"Well, looks like I win again." Genji smiled beneath his helmet. "Means I get to keep your hat for a day."

McCree got up to his feet. "C'mon, Genji. One more round!"

"Fair is fair!" He bent over to grab the hat off the ground, giving the cowboy a full view of his ass. "Don't you gotta be somewhere?"

"Probably not important," he muttered. Genji could feel him starting. "I'm going to take a shower. Meet you later?"

"If you can find me," he smirked.

He watched McCree leave and ran a diagnostic of his robot parts. As much as he didn't like it, he probably need a tune up soon. Genji got up to leave when a glint of metal caught his eye. He bent over and fished out McCree's revolver, he nicknamed Peacekeeper, from under a training bench and sighed. How could he have fallen for this clumsy man? His younger self would have insulted him for his tastes but he couldn't be picky anymore. Not everyone appreciated him for his looks.

He left the training room through the door he saw McCree go through, holding Peacekeeper in his hand. Genji weaved past the hallways towards the showers when he heard an argument up ahead.

"McCree!" It was Reyes.

"Yes, commander?"

"Where the hell have you been?"

"What'd ya mean?"

"You left me waiting for you in the training room for three fucking hours! What's your excuse this time?"

That was what McCree probably forgot about. He slowly climbed the wall, not making a sound and got onto one of the support beams on the ceiling.

"I-I was with someone." He saw McCree nervously licking his lips.

"Who? Shimada? Again?" Reyes growled, making Genji flinch. "You have to stop spending time with him. He's Overwatch and you aren't."

"Why'd you care who I spend time with anyway?" McCree sighed. "It's not like whatever we are is legal anyway."

Whatever we are? What did McCree mean by that?

"Whatever we are?" Reyes' voice dropped dangerously. "How'd you think I feel when you spend your every waking moment with him but come crawling back to me at night when he can't give you what you want!"

He felt his heart stop.

McCree and Commander Reyes were-

How could he be so blind?

He had to leave. He heard too much. He could return Peacekeeper later-

"Why do you care who I flirt with anyway? To me, Genji's just like another one of those omnics with a nice ass! He'll never be what you are to me!"

The world spun around him. McCree couldn't really mean that, could he? He felt himself falling.

_Just another one of those omnics._

He twisted last moment and landed lightly on his feet. He ran as far as he could, tears burning in his eyes.

He heard McCree calling after him. "Genji! I didn't mean-"

He didn't look back.

~

Genji sat curled up on the couch of the recreational room in the Blackwatch base. The conversation replayed over and over again in his mind.

 _Just another omnic._ _Come crawling back to me when he can't give you what you want._

He decided that he'll ask for a transfer back to Overwatch tomorrow. There was nothing left for him here. He opened his eyes when he heard footsteps enter the room.

"You're wrong, you know, Reyes-san." For once, his own voice sounded alienated to him. "I have everything to give him. I'm just afraid of you."

"What'd you mean?" Reyes spoke, cautiously walking forward.

Genji thought back to all the times he worked with him. "You don't seem to like me except for the fact that I can kill. You treat me like a machine, just like the rest of them."

"McCree means a lot to me," Reyes frowned. "I don't want him to be so close to you when you leave."

"What?" How did he know-

"Isn't it obvious?" Reyes raised an eyebrow. "You're going to hightail it outta here when your contract with the Shimadas are done. Up and leave. I know your kind to ditch everyone who cares about you and leave. I can't let you do that to McCree."

"McCree-san is the only one that treats me like a person." He growled. "Although I don't even know if he still does anymore." His mind wander back to the conversation. "And the fact of leaving? You think the UN overlooked that?" He remembered when he once broke in to a weapons room with McCree. "They designed weapons just for me. 'Just in case' they say. I feel so damn special." He remembered seeing his own blueprints. "They put a bomb in my body, commander, a bomb." His voice cracked. "Who does that?"

"I'm sure there's a reason-"

"Even so, where would I go anyway? Too human to be omnic. Too omnic to be human." Genji lowered his head. "Would you take that one comfort from me?"

"I didn't know that-"

"Of course not, no one cares," he snapped.

"Listen here, you damn brat," Reyes growled. "You tell yourself no one cares. Have you looked around? Angela, Jack, hell, even Ana asks you if you're fine or anything. They care, Genji. You're the one pushing them away."

"They don't know what I'm going through." All the anger drained out of him. He was just so tired. Tired of trying to be accepted in this world.

"Kid look, I'm not a therapist but feel free to call me if you need to get something off your mind."

Genji looked up in surprise at the man's tone.

"I wanna wager my gun against your sword." The man smiled at him. "I'll see what I can do about that bomb. That is a huge safety concern for my soldiers and Morrison would be pissed if he found out a stay bullet detonated one of his finest soldiers."

Did he really mean it?

"Thank you Reyes-san." He bowed deeply to him. "If you ever need anyone to confide your problems with, I will be here. I may not be able to help you but could make your problems seem like nothing."

He saw Reyes snort. And just to layer it, he added Hanzo's trademark line.

"I swear this on my honour."

~

—Watchpoint Gibraltar, unknown area.   
6 years prior

"Genji."

"Stop, you'll ruin the moment," he spoke in a hushed voice.

"It's important."

Genji turned over to face McCree. They were on the roof of Watchpoint Gibraltar looking at the stars. "Yes?" He asked in exprasasion.

"I'm leaving tomorrow," McCree sighed.

It took a few seconds before the full impact of the words hit him. The floor felt like it dropped out from under him. "What? Why?"

"Blackwatch is movin' out. We got a mission in Switzerland," he hesitated. "Also we got kicked out by Morrison."

"Is that what they were fighting about earlier?"

"Nah," McCree sighed. "That was the usual. 'Bout Blackwatch never bein' recognized for all the dirt work they do for Overwatch so they can 'save the world'."

"Will I see you again?" Genji asked. He didn't want to be separated from him even though they were part of two different divisions.

"Dunno, partner." McCree turned to look at him. "Guess our little plan to run away together may not work."

He smiled. "I was never serious about running away, you know."

"Why not?" McCree pouted at him.

"'Cause I know I'll never actually get you to run away with me."

The last thing he remembered was McCree watching him with wide eyes before he fell asleep.

In the morning, McCree was gone, as well as any sign that Blackwatch ever existed.

~

The next months were hard.

He had no way of contacting McCree and he felt like he was slowly losing himself. Each mission, each killing, only added onto his list of why he didn't fit in with these "heroes". The last straw was when an UN officer came for inspection and noticed him in the training room. He shouted at Morrison and asked him why he had an omnic among his ranks. Angela and Morrison tried to explain, but Genji had already left.

He stayed in his room for hours until he decided; he was going to run away. He packed everything, just some maintenance items for his machine parts, and some photos he had taken with McCree. He had no place here. Before he made it outside, he stopped. He left a note for Angela, saying that he was thankful for what she did and that he was sorry.

Genji stopped and took one last glance. Was this a good idea?

It would be hard to survive on his own, even in omnic friendly areas. Maybe he'll set out to Asia first, back to Japan.

He had no plans of coming back.

~

—Nepal, Shambali temple.   
6 months prior

Meditation helped. The nightmares were less and less frequent and more nights were spent peacefully. He had watched Overwatch's downfall from afar and regretted leaving so early. Maybe he could have helped.

Maybe.

A beep from inside his helmet startled him from his thoughts. A recall signal.

Maybe it wasn't too late to help fix his past mistakes.

And maybe, just maybe, he could see McCree again.

**Author's Note:**

> [edit: this was written before the Blackwatch Genji skin came out so I assumed he was part of Overwatch and stayed with Blackwatch fitting his Shimada op]
> 
>  
> 
> [Tumblr.](https://itwindragons.tumblr.com)


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